All Nippon hopes to boost its appeal south of the U.S. border

Passengers wait for their turn to board the ANA flight 173 to Tokyo from Houston Bush International Airport at the Terminal D Gate five, Friday, June 12, 2015, in Houston. ( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston Chronicle ) less

Passengers wait for their turn to board the ANA flight 173 to Tokyo from Houston Bush International Airport at the Terminal D Gate five, Friday, June 12, 2015, in Houston. ( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston ... more

Photo: Marie D. De Jesus, Staff

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Passengers this spring wait to board an All Nippon Airways flight at Bush ﻿Intercontinental Airport. Fliers stopping at Bush during trips between the Tokyo area's Narita airport and Mexico will no longer have to recheck their luggage.﻿ less

Passengers this spring wait to board an All Nippon Airways flight at Bush ﻿Intercontinental Airport. Fliers stopping at Bush during trips between the Tokyo area's Narita airport and Mexico will no longer have ... more

Photo: Marie D. De Jesus, Staff

All Nippon hopes to boost its appeal south of the U.S. border

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All Nippon Airways travelers stopping at Bush Intercontinental Airport during flights between Tokyo and Mexico or South and Central America will no longer have to recheck their luggage during the layover, the Japanese carrier announced Monday.

All Nippon hopes the change will help increase its appeal to fliers visiting those areas, including business travelers visiting Japanese automobile companies with operations in Mexico, spokeswoman Jean Saito said.

The carrier in June began offering a nonstop flight between Tokyo and Houston, where it partners with United Airlines for routes south of the U.S. border. About 15 percent of its first month's passengers connected to those destinations.

"This will be much, much more convenient," Saito said.

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All Nippon was cleared to offer the service through a baggage program with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Lance Lyttle, chief operating officer for the Houston Airport System, said United also is approved for the program at Bush.

"We've seen United Airlines expand this program dramatically in Houston over the past decade and we believe it's improved the level of efficiency within our international travel operation," Lyttle said in an email. "With this reality in mind, we're pleased to see ANA taking advantage of the program and we look forward to assisting them in any manner necessary."

International fliers needing another international flight, such as those traveling from Tokyo to Mexico City with a layover in Houston, must still go through customs.

With this program, they don't need to collect their bags. These bags are inspected, however, before being placed on the next flight.

The customs agency says the program makes movement through the airports more efficient.

As Houston continues to attract international air carriers and fliers, Lyttle expects more airlines to join the program, he said.

Airline consultant Pete Garcia agreed the through-baggage service is convenient, but he said All Nippon was most interested in making itself more attractive to customers traveling to Latin America.

"That's the only reason they would want to get approval from the government," he said.